I remember when......

Page 10

This page is devoted entirely to interesting stories
provided by former members of the 33rd Trans Co. or 118th AHC.
It might be safe to say that the stories are true but in some
cases "the names may have been changed to protect the innocent"!!

Christmas
1966 Menu

Once again the Military Assistance
Command Vietnam (MACV) attempted to provide a hot Christmas dinner
for all troops throughout Vietnam whether they be in the field
or in established mess halls. As seen by the specially prepared
menus below which was used by units within the 145th Combat Aviation
Battalion (CAB), the meal was as close to "home" as
possible with all the trimmings. General William C. Westmoreland
even had a short message to the men. Thanks to Willis Long for
providing these scanned copies of the menu he kept as a remembrance
of his tour in Vietnam in 1966-67 with the 118th Assault Helicopter
Company.

The Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) pilots
began training to fly the CH-34 helicopter back in the USA in
the very early 60's. They usually attended Primary Helicopter
training at Mineral Wells, TX as one or two added students to
each flight class. After flying in Vietnam for several years,
most of them needed to be transitioned into the UH-1D and H model
Hueys in anticipation of the VNAF phasing out the H-34s and receiving
their own Hueys. To accomplish this transition the VNAF pilots
were sent to many of the US helicopter units to get approximately
100 hours in 90 days from the U. S. pilots.

This article from Dec 26, 1966 in "The
Observer" shows how one LT Nugyen Duy The flew with the 118th
Thunderbirds and in particular with LT Thomas H. Payne. These
"students" flew with many of the 118th pilots in order
to receive instruction and guidance in flying the UH-1D &
H. Obviously, they knew the terrain and country and were many
times an asset to the aircrew. Thomas Payne remembers, "Most
of them were already pretty good pilots, in their own right, but
were in need of training in combat assaults and helicopter tactics.
I flew a lot with LT The and learned to trust him completely as
he learned how to handle the UH-1D in every kind of situation."

Rules
of Engagement

One of the most horrible happenings of war is what
is called "friendly fire." At all costs, friendly fire
is avoided and great efforts are taken to see that it doesn't
happen. In Vietnam, if friendly fire happened, it was usually
because poor coordination between ground troops and helicopters
or airplanes in the air.

In an effort to reduce the happening of friendly fire,
the 1st Aviation Brigade issued a little card for all air crews
to carry as a reminder. Below is the card as it appeared in the
1967 time.

Formation
Flying

Formation flying is a tactic of
warfare that dates back centuries. Even foot soldiers in B.C.
times understood the purpose of "formations" and "massing"
as used in warfare and the successes it would bring if properly
executed. Formations were used by organized armies to assault
and ultimately defeat an enemy of less disciplined foes on the
battle field.

In the case of aerial flight of
airplanes and helicopters, formations have been used for several
purposes. First is the orderly and quick movement of aircraft
from one point to another. Second, is the massing of fires from
the individual aircraft as both a defensive and offensive tactic
against the enemy. And, in the case of helicopters, the landing
of the troops on the battlefield in such a manner that they are
organized and coordinated (versus airborne drops) during the early
moments when they begin to engage the enemy on the ground.

In Vietnam was the first time such
heliborne tactics were used in the US Army. Pioneered by the Howze
Board in 1963, the helicopter units in Vietnam perfected the tactic
of formation flying to a very high level. All units took extreme
pride in their ability to accomplish formation flying with precision
and effectiveness against the Viet Cong.

From their very beginning the 118th
Thunderbirds were highly skilled and highly motivated in formation
flying. Beginning in the early years of 1962-63 the pilots of
the CH-21's relished the opportunity and challenge of flying in
formation on combat assaults and combat extractions. Their massed
door guns and later the Bandit gun ships accomplished many lifts
which would have been disasters had not good and proficient formation
flying been possible.

Below is several photos from the
1964 time period when the Thunderbirds had their early UH-1B's.
The photos were taken from a supporting Bandit gun ship from above
and below the formation. The formation in all the photos was "V's
of three". This formation was very often used for most lifts.
Also favored was V's of 5's and staggered right or left. More
photos will be added as they become available to show other formations
used by the 118th Thunderbirds during their almost 9 years in
Vietnam.

(Photo
courtesy David Vandenburg)

(Photo courtesy David Vandenburg)

(Photo courtesy David Vandenburg)

Neat photo of Thunderbird flight above thin
cloud l

ayer with Nui Ba Dinh mountain, near Tay
Ninh,

barely visible in the background. (66)

(Photo courtesy Charles Milan)

Huey With
A Broken "LEG"

Carrying the loads that Huey's often
did while taking off from rice paddies, rice dikes, roads and
airfields covered with PSP, was always a matter of proper technique.
Dust was hardly ever a factor in making a successful take-off
in Vietnam. However, taking off with a very heavily loaded gun
ship or slick over rice paddies full of water could easily cause
a loss of ground cushion and the accompanying large loss of RPM.
When this happened, it was not unusual to "bounce" off
the ground or slide the skids causing sparks and skid shoes to
wear! Maintenance was not very happy when this happened.

Occasionally, technique would not
be sufficient and a strange and a potentially lethal situation
would happen. Such was the case with this story about a Huey with
a broken "Leg".

MAJ Donald Wray, Bird watcher 6
and CO of the 573rd Maintenance Detachment remembered the incident
this way: "As I recall, the aircraft was taking off from
an old airstrip or landing pad that was covered with PSP. Somehow,
the rotor wash lifted a pretty good section of the PSP (which
apparently wasn't well secured to the ground), and during the
take off the skids got caught on it. They were able to complete
the takeoff, but the skids were almost ripped off. The guys were
lucky they weren't snatched out of the sky! The crew radioed ahead
to Bien Hoa and when they got back to the Birdcage, our guys looked
at the damage to see if a temporary repair could be made while
in a low hover, and then land on the skids. That was not an option.
That's when we made the bed of sandbags and the crew gently set
the aircraft down on them with minimal additional damage. They
did a great job."

The photos below show in sequence
the great job done by the pilots and crew of Red bird 2 to land
and stabilize the aircraft on a pad of sandbags. All the photos
were provided by Willis Long who was there and took them at the
time.

After an inspection a decision has been made.

Maintenance guys carry sandbags and make
a cradle.

Hovering over sandbag cradle. Note a crew
member

laying on floor and giving guidance to pilot.

All crew members are still on board!

Descending to the sandbag cradle.

MAJ Donald Wray giving hand signals to the
pilot.

Safely on the sandbag cradle, but still being

held light on the skids, all crew jump out.

Aircraft has been shut down and pilots get
out.

MAJ Wray with a little "worry"
on his face.

Tech. Inspector, SP6 Daniel R. Siam

lighting a cigarette once Red 2 is

safely on the sandbags.

Note sand on tarmac that leaked out

as they were dragged and piled up.

Hooking up the wrecker with boom

at 18 feet extension.

The damaged skids removed.

Once again many thanks to
Willis Long who worked in the 573rd Maintenance Detachment at
the time for providing these great photos of the incident.

Soldier
of the Month

The intent of this piece is not
to embarrass any one. However, the Enlisted ranks have a time
honored tradition of "Soldier of the Month". A command
from company level up to division selects a "Soldier of the
Month" as a way of recognizing a person who has done a superior
job and has exemplified what an outstanding soldier should be
like.

Recognition was normally by a formal
letter of commendation, placed in the soldier's personnel file
and a small token of remembrance for the occasion. Most times
this token was a plaque, framed photo or even a cigarette lighter.

The 33rd/118th Thunderbirds regularly
participated in this tradition. Below is an example of one man
who was selected as "Soldier of the Month" in August
1967, SP4 Willis J. Long.

(Letter and photo of cigarette lighter courtesy
Willis Long)

Now the selection of "Soldier
of the Month" took place each and every month that the Thunderbirds
were in Vietnam. But remember, they were in Vietnam for almost
9 years. This means that approximately 100 men received this honor.
If anyone has knowledge of others who who were selected, and their
month of selection, contact the Webmaster
and their names will be added to the list below.

A Thunderbird
in the Smithsonian

Not many aircraft in American history get a permanent
place to be displayed at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum
in Washington D.C. One of the few helicopters, and one of only
a handfull from the Vietnam era, is on display at the relatively
new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Int'l Airport. This
"Huey" was last flown in the 118th Thunderbirds from
October 1969 to April 1970 before being returned to the U.S. where
it served with various National Guard units until 1976.

The National Air and Space Museum acquired this
UH-1H Huey in 1995. This aircraft, U.S. Army serial number 65-10126,
began its military career as a brand new UH-1D accepted by the
Army in October 1966. One month later, 65-10126 was flying in
Vietnam with Company A of the 229th Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry
Division. It remained in Company A for ten months before the Army
transferred the helicopter to Headquarters Company, 11th Aviation
Battalion, where it served through June 1968 as Smokey III, a
name given to the aircraft by its crew. These particular Hueys
were fitted with a device that produced dense smoke by spraying
oil into the exhaust system. The smoke screened friendly helicopters
from the enemy. For example, as troop transports approached an
LZ, a Smokey would fly very low, producing smoke, between the
LZ and known or suspected enemy positions. The operation worked
best when the smoke was deployed low and slow. This made flying
the smoke ships an especially risky mission.

In July 1968, 65-10126 began a third combat tour
in Vietnam. Pilots in the 128th Assault Helicopter Company flew
it until April 1969 when the Army returned the Huey to the United
States for repair and overhaul. In October, the aircraft went
back to Vietnam for a fourth combat tour and the Army assigned
it to the 118th Assault Helicopter Company. This unit operated
the helicopter in combat through April 1970. After nearly four
years of combat service and more than 2,500 combat flying hours,
the aircraft was extensively damaged in an accident. The Army
sent the Huey to Corpus Christi, Texas, for a total overhaul.
It remained there until May 1971 when it was reassigned to the
Army National Guard. For a time, the Huey flew in Kentucky and
North Carolina. In March 1977, Bell converted the helicopter into
an H-Model Huey and the Guard continued to fly it until February
1994. It retired from flight status after flying more than 6,500
flight hours. The U. S. Army Aviation Museum, Fort Rucker, Alabama,
stored it until the National Air and Space Museum acquired the
aircraft in 1995 and moved it to the Paul E. Garber Restoration
Facility. This important American aircraft is now on public display
at the Steven
F. Udvar-Hazy Center